Multi-year calendars



Filed April 3, 1952 idd/a' ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJ l HGP EDCBA /Zau //4a INVENTOR BY @ma ATTORNEY United States Patent O MULTI-YEAR CALENDARS Carl C. Corbett, Dearborn, Mich. Application April 3, 1952, Serial No. 280,291

2 Claims. (Cl. 40-109) This invention relates to calendars, is more particularly concerned with multi-year calendars, and is most particularly concerned with a multi-year calendar which is simple and obvious in its extensive application, without complicated or conflicting instructions for any adaptation thereof, is compact and easily adjustable for the correct display of any past, present or future calendar month for an indefinite number of years.

In the prior art there are calendars for varying periods of years, commonly referred to as perpetual calendars which are structurally varied, have separate formulas for determining leap year January and February calendars,

show 31 days for every calendar month, requiring the K user to disregard the extra days shown for 28, 29, or 30 day months, 'are complicated, cumbersome in use and expensivel in fabrication. One of the determents for developers of calendars extending over a period of years has been they Gregorian calendar leap year pattern, as, for example, the absence of any leap year between the years 1896 and 1904. For this reason calendar researchers have not succeeded heretofore in developing a perpetual calendar which would correctly indicate January and February leap year calendars without complicated compensation.

Itis therefore an object of the present invention to provide a practical multi-year calendar adjustable to display any desired calendar month of any particular year. It is a further object of the present invention to provide ya.'multi,year calendar suitable in size to be carried in a wallet or purse of simple construction and very inexpensive to build. It is still a further object of this invention to provide a precision multi-'year calendar which will automatically show the exact number of days for all 28, 29, 30, or 31 iday calendar months with no separate instructions or special adjustments required for the display ofilanuary andY February leap year calendars.

I' have now'discoveredV a multi-yearcalendar whereby I- am vable to readily'avoidl the disadvantages of the prior 'artand able tov accomplish the objects set forth.

' While someofthe'outstandinlg features and advantages ofV` this invention have beenhereinbefore indicated, others will be apparent from the following disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a face view of one of the component parts, hereinafter referred to as the slide.

Fig. 2 is a face view of another component part, hereinafter referred to as the case or casing, showing the slide partially inserted therein.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the case shown in Fig. 2.

My improved calendar comprises a ilat, open ended case or casing 12a formed of opaque sheet material, in which is movably mounted a slide 1a.

When assembled, my multi-year calendar will show the slide to be slightly longer than the case and protruding at either or both ends therefrom. Thus the user may take hold of a protruding end and move the slide right or left as may be called for to display a particular ice monthly calendar in accordance with the procedure hereinafter described.

Fig. 1 shows the slide 1a removed from the case 12a', disclosing thereon a row of twenty-eight key characters comprising the letters of the alphabet 2a, A through Z, horizontally disposed, and a dot 3a land a dash 3b. It will be noted that a series of numerals indicating the days of the month appear on the slide 1a, arranged lineally and diagonally so that recurring like dates, in their correlative positions, are equi-distant vertically vfrom an imaginary horizontal line extending across the slide through the middle of the lineally and relatively disposed' characters 2a, 3a, and 3b. It will be further noted that the calendar date numerals on the slide are in lineal diagonal consecutive arrangement from left to right, said diagonal rows of date numerals starting either at l, 5, l2, 19 or 26. It Will Ialso be noted that there are nine lineal diagonal rows of numerals 4a and that the five lowermost rows end with the date numerals 29, 28, 31, 30 and 29 in this order from left to right, thus providing for true month endings in the -display of all calendar months.

It will be further noted that these numerals, indicating the days of the month, are arranged in thirty four columns, comprising four complete month groups of seven columns each, and three additional columns at each end. It will be still further observed that each of the key characters is in alinement with one of the central twenty eight columns of numerals, and that the above mentioned three additional columns lie beyond each end of the row of key characters.

The View of the case 12a in Fig. 2 shows that it carries a chart which lists a sequence of years in twenty-eight horizontal rows and tive vertical columns, as indicated.y by 5a and 9a, in correlative arrangement with an abbreviated listing of the twelve months 6a from January' through December and the above mentioned key characters, arranged in twenty-eight horizontal rows, as indicated by 7a and 8a, each row being in alinement with one of the rows of years. Also displayed on the case 12a are the abbreviations t3a for the days of the week, these abbreviations being disposed along one side ofv a rectangular calendar window 11a. Also formed in the casing is a separate, relatively small key character window 10a arranged to register with the row of key characters on the slide. The thirty-four date columns on the slide la, as indicated by 4a and the twenty-eight key symbols 2a, 3a and 3b, disposed horizontally thereon, provide for the full display of all monthly calendars. The light face horizontal rows of year figures, as indicated by 5a, followed by light face horizontal rows of characters, as indicated by 7a, refer to normal years and the bold face horizontal rows of gures, as indicated by 9a, followed by bold face horizontal rows of characters', asindica'ted by Sa, refer to leap years and are intended only for identification as the procedure does not vary in determining monthly calendars whether for normal years or for leap years. However, the bold horizontal rows of type faces for leap years followed by their respective horizontal rows of bold face key characters of every fourth row, together with the bold type faces for every other month abbreviation, facilitate easy reading of the calendar.

In Fig. 3, the end view of the case 12a is shown and the numeral 14a designates the space for inserting the slide la.

There being no leap year in the Gregorian calendar between the years 1896 and 1904, my multi-year calendar compensates mathematically and coordinately for this interrupted sequence of leap years, in part, through the eleven interlinear spacings 15a between the consecutive years 1899 and 1900 and the five interlinear spacings 16a between the consecutive years 1900 and 1901 and, in part,

column under the month June as will be noted, by varying intervals of` 12, 17, 23, 28 A and 40 years between the horizontal positions of the years as determined by their consecutive vertical arrangement in conjunction with the previously referred to inter- `linear spacings.

In the use of my multi-year calendar, the slide ,1a is inserted into the case 12a from either the left or the right end, the printed matter on the slide being next to the windows in the casing. Referring to the top row of year numbers on the casing, and selecting, for example, the month of June, it will be seen that the letter O lies at the intersection of this row of numbers and the vertical The letter O is therefore the key character for the calendar month of June for all of the years listed in this row. By moving the 'slide in the case until the letter O appears in the small key character window a, the calendar, which will then appear in the rectangular calendar window 11a, is the correct June calendar for each of the years listed in the `top horizontal row, viz, 1855, 1883, 1900, 1923, and

1951. Similarly by noting the key character which is found at the intersection of any desired row of years with the vertical column headed by any desired month, and shifting the slide until this particular key character appears at the small window, the complete calendar for the selected year and month will be displayed at the four sided, relatively large window. And this is true, re-

gardless of whether or not the selected year is a leap year.

It will be noted that the structural arrangement of my multi-year calendar invention allows for the direct reading of one full monthly calendar in each adjustment and that the device is singularly adapted to separately display every monthly calendar of every year.

Although I have shown my multi-year calendar as starting with the year 1855 and ending with the year 1978, I wish to make clear that I do not need to start and end my calendar with these particular years and am not limited to the number of years I have shown or to the specific area I have shown for listing years and key characters, since a multiple listing of key characters can be arranged to function correctly with the twelve month listings and with a relevant arrangement of any equal, smaller or larger listing of years.

Having clearly set forth the construction, utility and advantages of my invention, I wish particularly to state that modification in the details of construction, arrangement 'and assembly would not be a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. A calendar comprising an opaque casing open at one end and a slide movable longitudinally within said casing, said casing having thereon a table of years arranged in vertical and horizontal rows, a listing of the months, and a table of twenty eight key characters, all different, also arranged in vertical and horizontal rows, said key characters being adjacent to and interrelated with said rows of years and with said listing of the months in such a way that the position of each key character in the table corresponds with a particular month of some particular year, said slide having thereon numbers indicating the days of the month, said numbers being arranged in rows and vertical columns, and said slide also having a row of key characters parallel with the side edges thereof and corresponding with the key characters on said casing, said casing having a four sided window of such size as to expose a group of said numbers indicating the days of some one month only, and having the names of the days of the Week arranged in a horizontal row adjacent one edge of said window, said casing also having a separate, relatively small window disposed in line with the row of key characters on said slide, said small window being of such size as to render said key characters visible one at a time, as said slide is moved along.

2. A calendar comprising an opaque casing open at one end and a slide movable longitudinally within said casing, said casing having thereon a table of years arranged in vertical and horizontal rows, a listing of the months, and a table of twenty eight key characters, all dilerent, also arranged in ver-tical and horizontal rows, said key characters being adjacent to and interrelated with said rows of years and with said listing of the months in such a way that the position of each key character in the table corresponds with a particular month of some particular year, said slide having thereon numbers indicating the days of the month, said numbers being arranged in thirty four vertical columns and in continuous straight rows disposed at an acute angle to the side edges of said casing, whereby all numbers of the same denomination lie in the same horizontal line, and said slide also having a row of twenty eight key characters parallel with the side edges thereof and corresponding with the key characters on said casing, each of said key characters being disposed in alinement with one of the central twenty eight of said vertical columns, whereby three of said vertical columns lie beyond each end of said row of key characters, said casing having a single four sided window of such size as to expose any selected group of said numbers indicating the days of some one month only, and having the names of the days of the week arranged in a horizontal row adjacent one edge of said window, said casing also having a separate, relatively small window disposed in line with the row of key characters on said slide, said small window being of such size as to render said key characters visible one at a time, as said slide is Vmoved along.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 463,070 McKee Nov. 10, 1891 1,286,058A Morris Nov. 26, 1918 1,500,913 Adams July 8, 1924 1,949,328 Pinkerton Feb. 27, 1934 2,505,341 Rankin Apr. 25, 1950 2,506,888 Patterson May 9, 1950 2,575,929 Roesholm Nov. 20, 1951 

